Project XS850- Never Enough Time

[Triemer]

Hi,
I like what you're doin' here! I just picked up an 80 XS850 special as well. Looks the same as the red one in your pics. My plan is to Café the bike. I found a 79 XS750 tank but I wasn't sure if it would fit so I have it on hold till I figure it will work or not. Did yours slide right on or do you need to modify the mounts? Help would be appreciated!
Thanks!!

 

[suddenlycalm]

You have to remove the spacer in the front and cut down the extra rid and it slips on the front. The rear mount is different but it will work.

 

[Triemer]

Awesome! Sounds pretty straight forward.
Thanks!

 

[Silvergun]

Definitely gonna be cool. Im making a cafe racer from an 850G right now. Gonna be following for some tips. Find some time, man!

 

[Tschiffely]

Lookin awesome! Love the megs cone, they have nice stuff at great prices..!

What did you do to convert the rear to the 18" wheel? The 850's come with 16's...

 

[suddenlycalm]

It was a complete swingarm swap. Everything went right over.

 

[dyerdown]

lookin' sharp there sir!

 

[suddenlycalm]

A few updates.
Laying out and masking the tank. I cant beleive i did this on my own. Symmetrical and all. That takes skill and I have respect for people that do this every day.

After spraying 12 coats of black metallic.

After removing the mask a few minutes later.

Here is a quick shot of the battery and electronics tray.

 

[sinbad85]

nice job on the tank!
i am a fan sir!

also the wiring is looking very neat and tidy!
love it

 

[PjkF]

Absolutely spot on! The color combo is perfect!

 

[teabowl13]

This is going to be one amaaaazing machine!
Great work on the paint; wish I could see it in person.
Cheers!!

 

[suddenlycalm]

Sorry for the lack of updates but a big project at work has been taking all of my time.
I finally got around to clear coating my paint.

This is sooo close to being finished. I just have to wet sand and buff then reassemble and shake down. Should be on the road soon.

 

[PjkF]

Wow! It looks great! You musta had a great designer! -Faith

 

[cyclefreak]

Great work so far!!!! Can't wait to see more!!!

 

[guernz]

looks good. Pumped about seeing a full pic of the bike complete.

 

[suddenlycalm]

I wet sanded last night. Tonight I start polishing. Any one got any advice?

 

[WeberKid]

people say watch a movie while polishing by hand. I have mixed feelings on this. I can't multitask and i polished the clear right off a section of my helmet because I hit the same spot for 2 hours. my advice is listen to music - don't watch a movie.

 

[suddenlycalm]

Ok. So i got the polishing pretty much finished up.

Before:

After:

I used Wizards Turbo Cut followed by Wizards Finish Cut. I used meguairs red foam pads for the turbo cut and yellow foam pads for the finish cut. This seemed to work well for me. Other people may have other opinions but this is a good option for inexperienced people like me. I still need to clean and apply their Shine Master product to bring out the shine a little more. All in all i am happy that they turned out this nice!

I'm almost there. I just to to reassemble a few pieces and place an order for a few more parts and she should be ready to go!

 

[PjkF]

Dang.

 

[PjkF]

I demand updated pictures!